Computer systems in general are known. A typical system comprises a computer, keyboard, mouse, and a monitor. Additionally, the computer comprises a central processing unit (“CPU”) and random access memory (“RAM”) and allows various software programs to be used. Further, the computer might comprise a modem, an Ethernet card or other similar device for connecting to a system of networked computers, such as the Internet.
The Internet provides a useful technique for making information available to a variety of individuals each of whom may be located at a variety of different locations. Indeed, within the vast Internet environment, individuals can access information tools from remote locations.
The Internet, which originally came about in the late 1960s, is a computer network made up of many smaller networks spanning the entire globe. The host computers or networks of computers on the Internet (“hosts”) allow public or private access to databases containing information in numerous areas of expertise. Hosts can be sponsored by a wide range of entities including, for example, universities, government organizations, commercial enterprises and individuals.
Internet information is made available to the public through servers running on the hosts. The servers make documents or other files available to those accessing the hosts' site. Such files can be stored in databases and on storage media such as optical or magnetic storage devices, preferably local to the host.
Networking protocols can be used to facilitate communications between the host and a requesting client. TCP/IP (“Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol”) is one such networking protocol. Computers on a TCP/IP network utilize unique identification (“ID”) codes, allowing each computer or host on the Internet to be uniquely identified. Such codes can include an IP (“Internet Protocol”) number or address, and corresponding network and computer names.
Created in 1991, the World-Wide Web (“Web” or “WWW”) provides access to information on the Internet, via web sites, and allows a user to navigate Internet resources intuitively, without IP addresses or other specialized knowledge.
The proliferation of the Internet, in particular the World Wide Web, makes a large amount of information, goods, and services, accessible to anyone connected to the Internet. In order to access the Internet, a user typically subscribes to an on-line service provider. Using, for example, a modem coupled to a computer, the user contacts the service provider to which they have become a member and allows password verified access, and the service provider, in turn, connects the user to the Internet. The web consists, generally, of voluminous “sites,” called “web sites.” Various web sites contain information and provide online products of various types such as purchasing an automobile or clothing, to providing access to information such as online encyclopedias and newspapers. Web documents are stored in HTML format in association with a “server” and a “database” on remote network servers and network database computers.
The Web comprises hundreds of thousands of interconnected “pages,” or documents, which are parts of various web sites and which can be displayed on a user's computer monitor. The web pages are provided by hosts running special servers. Software that runs these web servers is relatively simple and is available on a wide range of computer platforms including PC's. Equally available is web browser software, used to display web pages as well as traditional non-web files on the user's system.
Recent years have been marked by a societal and technological revolution driven by the convergence of the data processing and data storage industry with consumers via the Internet. One of these technologies is the Internet-related distribution of documents, media and programs. With the expansion that has occurred, businesses and consumers have direct access to a wide range of documents, media and even computer programs.
Hypertext Markup Language (“HTML”), which has been a documentation language of the Internet and World Wide Web for years offers direct links between pages and other documentation on the Internet and a variety of related data sources which were at first text and then evolved into not only text but various media formats and progressed towards interactive documents for submission and retrieval of information. This even further exploded the use of the Internet and World Wide Web. It was now possible for a web user to spend hours going through document after document and interact with online businesses and databases.
The Web is based on the concept of hypertext and a transfer method known as “HTTP” (“Hypertext Transfer Protocol”). HTTP is designed to run primarily over TCP/IP and uses the standard Internet setup, where a server issues the data and a client displays or processes it. One format for information transfer is to create documents using HTML. HTML pages are made up of standard text as well as formatting codes indicating how to display the page. The browser reads these codes to display the page.
Each web page may contain pictures and sounds in addition to text. Associated with certain text, pictures or sounds are connections, known as hypertext links, to other pages within the same server or even on other computers within the Internet. For example, links may appear as underlined or highlighted words or phrases. Each link is directed to a web page by using a special name called a URL (“Uniform Resource Locator”). URLs enable the browser to go directly to the associated resource, even if it is on another web server.
There is a long felt need for providing users with a physical certificate containing an authorization code that can be redeemed for an online product. This need is especially true in the funeral industry, such that a user can purchase a physical certificate for an online product to provide to families and friends without having to be experienced in using or purchasing online products.